Common Problems with Luxury Vinyl Tile and their solution?

Everything in the world comes with pros and cons. Luxury vinyl tile is not different. It offers beautiful 3d graphics, natural stone or wood stimulation, and longevity with less maintenance for sure. But at the same time, you will have some problems with luxury vinyl tile.

When you know the problems and the benefits, deciding on using the tile will be easier. To assist your decision-making, we will share some common problems you may have with luxury vinyl. Simultaneously, we will show you the solutions to handle the problems.

Common Problems with Luxury Vinyl Tiles

Contents

Luxury vinyl brings a luxurious look to our home. Unfortunately, you have to face some problems as well. So let’s have a look at the common problems and solutions.

Discoloration

One of the common problems with luxury vinyl tile is discoloration. Luxury vinyl tile will enhance the aesthetic beauty of your home with its shiny graphics. However, it starts losing its color after a few years and becomes faded. Your home will start looking lifeless and pale.

Reasons for discoloration

You may wonder why luxury vinyl tile gets discolored. Well, it is natural for us to spill food or drinks on the floor. No matter how cautious we are, we cannot prevent an accident. The tiles absorb the water from spilt drinks or food and destroy the shiny graphics.

Common Problems with Luxury Vinyl Tiles
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Unfortunately, spilt foods or drinks are not the main culprits here for getting discolored. Sunlight heat or vent heat plays a vital role as well to pale the tile. Sometimes, we want to get fresh sunlight at home and put off the curtain. Also, we want sun heat to warm our room. On the flip side, it is not possible to keep your room in the shade all the time.

Solution

  • Clean the spilt food or drinks immediately. You can also use a carpet to protect the floor from absorbing water.
  • Put down the curtain to prevent sunlight from coming in. You can use the morning sunlight when the temperature is low for natural light.
  • Stop using a heat vent to protect your vinyl tile from discoloring.

Scratches

Scratches on our furniture, floors, walls, and all other places are common. So it is nothing surprising that your luxury vinyl tile floor will get scratched as well. We have so many implements in our everyday life that can cause scratches to the LVT. When it happens, your floor looks old, faded, and dull.

Reasons for scratches

Hard dirt is the main culprit to make scratches. When coming back home from outside, bringing hard dirt with shoes will do the damage. To prevent scratches caused by hard dirt, simply wipe or sweep it out immediately with a soft broom. High heels can also make scratches. So try not to let your guest get into your room with shoes.

Solution

After even being so careful, sometimes scratches happen. Don’t worry! You can make things right by taking immediate action

  • Step 1: First, clean the scratches with soapy water and a sponge and let the area dry. You may think of using any other cleaning products. But is Cleaning Products safe for Vinyl Planks? Well, it is safe until it is pH-neutral. Anything with ammonia may damage the vinyl.
  • Step 2: Use sandpaper and rub the scratched area softly. You will see the marks are coming out.
  • Step 3: After that, use finer sandpaper to make the vinyl tile shining again.

Peeling off and cracking

Even after such care and maintenance, you will see your tiles peeling off and cracking after a few years. It will get worse if you don’t take any immediate measurements. If the tiles are cracked, repairing them might be impossible. However, if it peels off, using adhesive will be more than enough.

Common Problems with Luxury Vinyl Tile and their solution
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Reason for peeling off and cracking

The adhesive used to attach the luxury vinyl tile gets weaker over time. After a certain period, the tiles start to peel off from the corner.

Solution

  • Step1: Take a foil paper and put it on the peeled-off area.
  • Step 2: Use your iron and heat up the area over the foil paper to soften the adhesive. You will see your tiles coming up.
  • Step 3: Now pull the tile and use a good adhesive.
  • Step 4: Put the tiles back and press it with a pin or something else.
  • Step 5: Wait for a few hours so that the adhesive gets stronger and you get a brand new tile once again.

Difficulty in installation and repair

Installation is another big challenge you may face when using luxury vinyl tile. If the substrate is uneven when installing the tile, it may buckle or take more materials during installation. It’s because you must place the tile over the high and low dent.

Besides, moisture in the room creates another challenge in installing the tiles. When vinyl tiles get contact with moisture, it gets damaged. The moisture also weakens adhesive that causes peeling off the tile.

Apart from that, repairing can be trouble for vinyl tiles. Since it is not made of wood or bamboo, repairing is nearly impossible when it gets scratched or breaks down. You have no way but to replace the tile for your home.

Solution

  • Try to make the substrate even before installing the luxury vinyl tile
  • Make sure you reduce the moisture in the room and then install the tiles
  • Take professional help to repair the tiles.

Non-biodegradable and harmful to health

Vinyl tiles are not biodegradable and highly expensive to recycle. The used tiles are burned up or end up in landfills after their life ends to save money. These used tiles affect the environment a lot. Also, manufacturers use PVC and phthalates in most cases to produce vinyl tiles.

Exposure to phthalates may cause several problems for children. Some phthalates are even responsible for cancer. The problem is, we don’t know what type of phthalate is used in the tile. Why? Well, the chemical companies are not bound to tell their ingredients used in the materials. There is no solution to this problem but not using it.

Solution

  • Use carpet to avoid direct contact with the tiles
  • Pick tiles that have little to no phthalate. Even if it has phthalate, make sure the phthalate is not a harmful type.

Conclusion

Luxury vinyl tiles are getting more popular day by day. It makes your floor luxurious and increases the real state value of your property. But luxury does not mean zero problems at all. Like any other materials or flooring tile in the world, you will find problems with luxury vinyl tile as well.

After reading this article, you are now aware of the problem and solution. If you follow the solution and take the right measurement, using the tile safely as possible. Also, these solutions will help you keep your floor new and shiny for a long time. Consequently, you can increase your property value and aesthetic beauty of your home.

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